Ooma Idea Not So Original

Andrew Frame, the chief executive of Ooma, has answered the second batch of questions from Bits readers on his new telephony start-up.

Axe: And what about privacy? If my phone call goes through another user’s PC and to his phone line, which guarantee do I have that he won’t be sneaking to my communication?

Andrew Frame: Unlike other Voice-over-IP providers, Ooma encrypts all voice conversations as they traverse the Internet. Ooma has proprietary technology to prevent and detect tapping of the phone line.

Prashanth: At $400 a device, it would take me at least 16 months to recoup my costs as compared to Vonage. By then Vonage prices may have dropped which will only extend the break even point.

Andrew Frame: If you include tax and fees, Vonage costs $28/month, or over $1000 over the course of three years. If you need a second line with Vonage, you’ll pay double that amount. The longer you keep the service, the more expensive it gets. It is also not fair compare Vonage with Ooma since they are two very different products. Our product is a unique telephone service enabled by p2p and provided by a box that you own. It provides not only free calling with no monthly fees, but it also includes both the Instant Second Line as well as the Broadband Answering Machine. These are not available anywhere else and would normally incur a monthly fee for having these services. We have customers running Ooma that are coming from having 2 lines fully configured with enhanced services and long-distance that are saving over $100/month using Ooma.

Prashanth: This will still need an internet connection which will mean, I can use the Skype’s of the world to talk for free.

Andrew Frame: And as a reminder, unlike other services, such as Skype or many other Instant Messenger-based phone services, Ooma let’s you call anyone in the US for free. They do not need to be another Ooma subscriber, they do not need to be logged on, they do not need to even have an Internet connection or computer. If they have a phone number, it’s free to you.

Adam: Forget it. While somebody making a call to your own area is using your line to complete the call, you won’t be able to receive any calls on that line?

Andrew Frame: Ooma’s technology makes distributed termination completely transparent. This means that even if someone else is using your line, you will be able to make AND receive calls just like normal. Other people still dial your same phone number and your phone still rings, just like before.

Mike Van Horn: I own a small business. 4 employees in an office suite, 3 phone lines with “hunting” feature, plus fax. DSL. I was delighted to read about your “2nd virtual line.” But if 2, how about 3, or 4 virtual lines? Will your voicemail be able to handle mailboxes for different “extensions?”

Andrew Frame: Ooma’s first product is targeted at the home user where the second line is the sweet spot for the market. In the near future, we will be looking at how we can adapt the technology for other market segments.

Warren: If used without a landline, how does one get a new phone number?

Andrew Frame: When you buy the Ooma device and choose the option to use our product without a landline, you will be able to select from a list of phone numbers to use.

Warren: Can Ooma be connected to a fax machine with or without a landline?

Andrew Frame: Ooma can be connected to a fax machine, with or without a landline. It is recommended that the fax machine be connected directly to the Ooma Hub.

Shahryar: I suspect when your TDM phone line is in use by device calling another user’s number using local TDM of the phone company, if you receive a call, they could have another device from someone else’s TDM line first try your TDM line and if that is busy, then do an IP call to your device that way you can pick up the phone thinking you are still using the phone company’s TDM service. I suspect the user will be able to tell the difference if this happens because the call will sound like a VOIP call. I also suspect the peers are not going to be too happy if their device is used alot by others and the audiophiles amongs them may disconnect the device so they can have clear TDM local calls.

Andrew Frame: Ooma uses a combination of advanced technologies that we have developed in order to eliminate the poor quality associated with VoIP calls. Ooma was designed for a mainstream consumer that has no patience for anything less than land-line quality.

John Willis: We currently have Vonage and no landline. I require the virtual number, conferencing, call forwarding and SimulRing/Call blasting features. Will I be able to have these with Ooma? Without a monthly fee? Without a land line?

Andrew Frame: When you purchase Ooma and choose the no landline option, Ooma will allow you to select your new phone number (which does not need to match where you actually reside). We offer an easier and more powerful version of conferencing with the Instant Second Line and plan to have call forwarding in the near future. These features are included in the price of the hardware, there is no monthly fee.